Great FREE Academic Support Sites for ELLs and other Struggling Students!

 

Welcome to April!  Isn’t it difficult to believe that the end school year is just around the corner? 

So with that fun thought in mind (and 10 more weeks to go), what can be done to support those few English language learners who are doing poorly though they seem to put their best efforts forward regularly in class?  What can a teacher do to address the needs of those students who just arrived in the middle of the school year (very common with ELLs)?  How can their fellow classmates help these students without neglecting their own studies?  There are many solutions here and this newsletter will focus on many of them.

Technology-In planning any lesson for a class, some special consideration must come into play in preparing ELLs to do well.  SHOWME is an app that allows a teacher to develop videos, power points, white board activities, etc. for free!  Get the app and use some of the lessons already on file.  This is a great tool to use for ELLs who need to go through the content again or for students who were absent for the lesson.  This app helps the teacher keep her/his sanityJ

How about providing students with virtual tours of historical sites?  These tours would be available online 24 hours a day and accessible through iPads, smart phones, laptops, etc.  When students have the option to revisit material at home without peer pressure (and more L1 support), they are more likely than not going to understand more and that builds self-confidence.  The Statue of Liberty tour is exceptionally well done.

Knowmia provides over 30,000 video lessons from great teachers (you may also submit one of your own that you are particularly proud of as well).  Just imagine how this might alleviate a student’s anxiety in not fully understanding a lesson.  Here, a teacher would provide the link to both student and parent to make the lesson more accessible.

Organized Small Group Activities are a must for not just ELLs, but for students in general.  Asking students to make their own groups is essentially a train wreck in the making (humor intended).  Teachers need to create the groups with a healthy mix of students and talents.  Students must be clear that every person in the group (and that there is not only a group grade but an individual one as well) must work. Each person in the group has an assigned task for which she/he will receive a grade as well as a grade for the group as a whole.  With clear expectations laid out, teacher going from group to group to randomly call on persons in the group for information on group’s progress, and time constraints (to keep them on track), everyone benefits. 

Alternative assessments are only limited by a teacher’s imagination.  ELLs (as well as students with special needs) may require other approaches to demonstrate their understanding of a topic.  This link provides many tools that would offer such students a way to say to the teacher and the class that they have the same understanding of a given topic that all the others have.  Great self-esteem and self-confidence builder guaranteed!

Have a great spring break!

Denise, Marnie, Cheryl

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5 Simple Ways to Start New Year Off on a Positive Note for EVERY STUDENT:)

Though most teachers are on winter break, they will probably start lesson planning next week:).   After all, assisting students in re-acclimating themselves to class routines and learning as quickly as possible benefits teachers as well as students.  With an attentive highly engaged student population, teachers will be in a better position to reap the benefits of their creative lessons.  As students' self-confidence builds, they retain more.  With higher retention rates, grades improve and that leads to a drop in the D/F rate of ELLs as well as long-term ELLs (many of whom struggle academically in mainstream classes).

Here is an excellent recap of very effective approaches to empower students (all students) to become active participants in lesson activities.  NONE of them are new of course, but they serve as a reminder of the need for teachers to "keep a finger on the pulse" of student learning.  Please note that the HOW-TO Suggestions are NOT new:)

1.  Engage/Observe.  Keep a checklist (short and simple--take a roster and use CHECKS and MINUSES on student progress).  For students who struggle, quickly note what the difficulty is and set time aside within class to help that one while the rest of the class is engaged with the assigned academic task on their own. 

2.  Feedback Give and Take.  The more constructive detailed feedback a teacher can provide, the more accessible the lesson content will be.  Make it a point to interact with every student.  This can be doing via small group learning activities or on an individual basis.  Keep in mind that interaction with students in small groups might be a more effective way to have more time with students as opposed to one-on-one contact.  However, find an approach that is the most effective for you.  I use a mixture of the two.

3.   Confer Frequently.  Set aside time at least once a week to talk with students on an individual basis on their progress.  Document, document, document!  Such information is crucial in planning more effective lessons and assessment tools.

4.  Design Unit Assessments.  With Common Core, such assessments are already in place.  However, teachers can still design unit assessments as PRE-Common Core assessments.  The results from such tools will assist teacher in identifying areas of weakness and strengths for students.  With such data in hand, the teacher can fine-tune lessons to address those weaknesses thereby building student self-confidence for taking the formal unit assessment.

5. Teach Self-Evaluation.  For students to truly benefit from assessments, they need to be able to see where they erred and know why.  For a teacher to return test papers without giving them time to discover why the grade or score they received was correct is doing little for the students.  Until they understand on their own why their choices were incorrect, they are doomed to repeat the mistakes.  To motivate, why not allow time in class to have them do just that and to make sure that they are not just copying, use a randomizer to select students to explain why the choices to an answer are wrong. 

Happy New Year from all of us to you and your students!  Yes, 2014 offers everyone a fresh start both teachers and students:) 

Denise, Marnie, and Cheryl

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Some Highly Effective Strategies to Create Quality Homework Assignments

All classroom teachers assign homework regardless of the subject taught.  Students spend hours on it every week, but are they really benefiting from it?  What types of assignments are often given where students actually are challenged to think beyond the text?  After all, the goal of common core based lessons is to have students apply academic knowledge to the real world.  If this link is established, it will open the door to preparing students to successfully enter the global workforce where project based activities are often the norm.

Teachers should try to move away from the traditional assignments such as answering questions from a text to activities that make the leap from text to real world.  For example, if studying biology, why not have students begin a project where they must plant a garden on campus and justify their selection of plants.  This type of project might involve blogging on the progress of their plants, ideas on what to do with the produce, creating detailed charts on the nutritional value of each of the vegetables planted, etc.  Notice how such an assignment would naturally lend itself to student collaboration beyond the school day as students text, email, or call each other to monitor the progress of their plants.  A project like this involves not only a knowledge of biology, but also math, writing, and research.  All these elements dovetail quite easily.  There is also built-in support for English language learners.

In this article on homework, teachers might walk away with a new outlook on what constitutes effective homework for them and why:)

Denise

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9 Methods to Provide More Effective Feedback to Student Writing:)

Very few English language learners find the writing process in English a challenge.  The same can be said for the average native speakers of English.  The simple act of writing anything academic in nature is often seen as a painstaking process.  So what are teachers to do to change attitudes and, by doing so, raise self-confidence in accomplishing this crucial skill?  The red pen/pencil is not the way to go.

The article, "9 Ways to Give (More Effective) Writing Feedback", provides some very creative approaches to nurture students through the writing process.  Each of these 9 suggestions could easily be woven into any writing instruction with ease. 

I have used 2 (for me 2) stars and a wish.  In fact, this is done through a gallery walk where writings are posted around the room and students, with post-it notes, find 2 things they liked in a student's writing and 1 area where they wish they had more information. 

Creating little mini-lessons personalizes the writing experience.  Teachers identify unique writing problems that some students have and then design little 2 minute mini-lessons to address those errors.  This can be done at the teacher's desk as a "conference."  Students really enjoy that one-on-one time with the teacher.  Embarrassment is never an issue here since it is a conversation between the teacher and the student only.

Bring in peer editing.  My policy is that I am the 3rd reader of a student's work---never the first.  Students seem to be a bit more attentive to writing when they know that their classmates will read their work before I do:)

The article has additional suggestions.  Add them to what you already do and see student attitude towards writing change for the better:)

70 Highly Engaging Activities to Liven Up Any Lesson:)

Common core based lessons will require teachers to dig deeper in delivering instruction to their students regardless of the grade level or content taught.  In addition to this, many schools are going to block scheduling this year.  This will increase class time while reducing teacher-student contact time to 3 times a week.  The upside to this is that teachers will have more time within a class period (typically 90+ minutes) to reach the students who struggle. 

So what can be done in this extended  class time period?  How can teachers keep students fully engaged in the learning process without becoming bored?  The answer is ... many things:)  If students are to become confident independent learners, they will need multiple opportunities to explore new content in unique ways tailored to their learning styles, interests, skills, etc.  Diversity is the key. 

This list of  70 ways to fully engage students in their learning will offer multiple activity choices for teachers.  All were created by educators around the country.  Explore the list, add to it, share it, etc.

Denise

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100 Best Videos for Teachers to Use as Part of Classroom Instruction

Since it is summer, I have not been blogging daily, but with the return to school for me in 2 weeks (yes, that's right), I will be back on a daily basis soon:)

In preparing for the upcoming school year, many teachers will be searching for video support to add vital context to meaning for their students.  English language learners will especially require extra measures to ensure both their access to content along with language development.  Often times, locating non-Hollywood video instructional tools can often times be a very time consuming process. 

In 100 BEST VIDEOS, teachers are provided with a wide range of tech tools to bring life to any content lesson.  With common core, such a resource will enable more students to "see the big picture" and this should lead to a stronger grasp of content.  Further, students may revisit them at home since they are free video sources. 

The academic categories covered are history, science, language, and arts.  General topics as well as specific ones are addressed here and most are no more than a few minutes in length.  This is long enough to build student interest as the teacher prepares them to tackle the academic topic of the lesson.

There are also videos that might assist teachers in honing their teaching skills:)  Clips on classroom management, inspiration, how-tos, technology, and humor are also found.  Check them out for some ideas on new approaches to running classes. 

Hope you like the site:)

Denise

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Bring Business World into Math Class and See Student Engagement Skyrocket:)

With Common Core math lessons, the textbook will no longer control the layout of the course or the pacing.  It will be far more engaging since the letters and numbers will now have a direct connection to life beyond high school. 

Here is a clip of class of academically low performing math students who entered Build San Francisco Institute where math in the real world  in architecture was the focus.  Classes are small and students spend part of their non-traditional school day as interns at architectural firms in the city of San Francisco.  Their assignments at the firm are to create living quarters, for example, which meet strict city specs while also turning a profit.  Architects support them along the way, but do not take over traditional roles of teachers.  As students pursue their projects, they encounter roadblocks, but no adult gives the answer.  Students, with guidance, solve the problems as they proceed along.  This approach proves that with perseverance, any issue can be successfully dealt with.  What is in place within this set-up is common core in action.  Project based learning is the process.

Here is background on project.  The success of this approach has led to higher graduation rates and test scores.  More importantly, these students now see real life applications to subject matter and that connection could lead to a career that they might not have previously considered.

So how can lessons be created with the common core in this area?  Welcome to core lesson planner,
where teachers can have access to all the standards and places to store any lessons created.  It is free to join.  Build lessons with common core standards contained within the site and then save them in the cloud!  Never again will a teacher have to worry about losing lessons:)

Denise

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10 Applications of Algebra in the Real World!

Not all students grasp the key concepts of algebra with ease.  The learning process becomes even more  challenging when students have gaps in their school history.  So, what can teachers do to motivate students to actually enjoy learning algebra?  Tie it to the real world.  Give students real examples of algebra beyond the textbook.  When such context is fully incorporated into the lesson, algebra becomes more accessible for all.

In the New York Times learning blog (free to join), teachers will find great strategies to turn the complex into the accessible.  The blog also supports the new Common Core Standards in all content areas (middle school and high school are the audiences here).  For this post, the teaching of algebra is addressed through 10  real world applications.  What examples are chosen?  

A favorite is comparing the speeds of 21st century athletes with those of past events.  This could also be applied to any sport for that matter.  If students are not interested in sports, then what about recipes?  Or, mortgage interest rates?   Or calculating car rates?  Tie algebra to areas of interest for them and the lesson will have meaning.

Denise

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How About Some Fun Informational Text to Use with Struggling Readers in Common Core ELA Lessons:)

As summer fast approaches, teachers will begin the planning for interdisciplinary common core lessons.  It is truly an exciting time to be in education with the US finally creating national standards.  With full support and buy-in from administration, classroom educators, and parents, the ever escalating D/F grades for long term English language learners as well as other struggling students should finally turn around.  The goal is to fully prepare all students for life beyond high school whatever that is---university or global workforce.

So literacy will be the goal in every class across all subject areas.  Students will be reading, writing, and building academic vocabulary all day long in every class/subject in school.   To begin the process of determining meaning from complex informational text for their students, teachers may wish to model the process using material that will be motivating for students to read but not overwhelming in length.

To meet that goal, why not try ...predictions from 1900 on life 100 years from then...?  The text was written John Watkins back in 1900 for Ladies Home Journal.  Writing from the perspective of people from the the beginning of the 20th century, he made predictions about what life in 100 years would be like.  Not only would students have multiple opportunities to explore PREDICTIONS and ACCURACY, but enjoy the process.  The individual predictions could be cut up and assigned to teams to not only pull meaning from but also to identify the accuracy of the prediction.  Students would need to research whether or not that prediction came to be in the 21st century.  Once identified, they would need to justify the accuracy (or not) of the writer's beliefs using concrete details to address the success or failure of his predictions. 

Moving from this fun introduction, students might have an assignment on making their own predictions for the evolution of tech products today to what they might be in 100 years from now.  How successful would students be with this?  They will have fully explored the process with the teacher, the whole class, their partners, and on their own.  They are set up to be successful:)

Denise

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Want to Boost Student Self-Confidence in Taking Exams? Let THE STUDENTS Conduct the Review Sessions:)

How do many teachers prepare students for examinations?  The traditional ways include, but are not limited to, worksheets, teacher lectures, practice examinations, teacher prepared notes, special homework assignments geared to the upcoming test, etc.  Now, there is nothing wrong with these techniques to be sure, but are they the most effective?  How engaged are students generally in completing such activities?  Of course the A student will do well no matter what approach is used.  However,  what about the students with special needs, the English language learners, the students in need of just a few more minutes to digest the data, or those who struggle when lessons are developed that do not take into account their learning styles?

Here is an approach that can be quite effective if teachers are willing to step outside their comfort zones.  Assign review topics to small groups to teach to their classmates.  The teacher would split up a chapter into 4 or 5 sections and then assign one section to a group of 3 or 4 to teach to their classmates.  This would entail their becoming thoroughly familiar with their assigned part, preparing charts or power points or videos to capture the main parts of the reading, creating handouts for classmates to complete on the section presented,  asking quality questions and picking on non-volunteers, "grading" (up to them how they might like to proceed, but teacher could offer suggestions as well) to see if fellow students fully understood the review session content, etc.  Further, the teacher, as a passive observer, would have another way to assess how well prepared the students are for the upcoming test.  This technique will tell teachers if there are any foggy issues still present or not.

One more advantage, the student presenters develop a deeper knowledge of the topic themselves making them in-class experts:)

Here is an example from a middle school, but it can easily be adapted for upper grades.

Passing the controls over to students can truly be a rewarding experience for everyone:)

Denise

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Turn the Writing Process for Students Into a Major Publishing Event---Bring in Blogging as Part of Class Routine:)

Often times, when teachers start to address the writing process with their students, they face a classroom of uninspired students:)  The traditional paper and pencil approach is needed of course from time to time, but those tools could definitely benefit from a little 21st century technology.  After all, students are already using the internet daily through laptops, iPads, and smartphones so why not bring the familiar into the classroom to work to the teacher's benefit?  This approach to writing will energize kids as they find out that what they create will be published online for all the world to see.  This will be a worldwide audience extending far beyond the walls of the classroom:)

If teachers are a bit hesitant about trying it due to a lack of familiarity, they will benefit from reviewing this chart.  Class blogs are great starting points since the teacher can maintain control over what does and does not get posted.  Further, this vehicle allows the teacher to model the process with student input.  As the students explore the features (pluses and minuses) of a blog, they build the confidence to try blogging for the teacher on their own (on school related assignments which the teacher would have some control over).  Parents would need to be involved here.  Their permission would be called for in many districts. 

So where should a teacher look for blogging platforms?  Here is a link which offers some of the best ones out there. Teachers should explore them all to see which one feels most comfortable for them to work with in their classes. 

Last, but not least, 8 REASONS why teachers should include blogging in their classrooms.

Denise

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Classroom Time Management--A MUST for Common Core Lessons!

For teachers already actively engaged in common core lessons as well as those new to implementing them, they all must grapple with time management:)  How does a teacher release students to project based learning activities built on the lesson concepts without total mayhem setting in?  After all, no learning can take place if students are not trained on how to use their time wisely. 

Spending the first 3-4 weeks of a new school year familiarizing students with class rules and repercussions for breaking them is time well spent.  Once students know the limits, they learn to respect them. That in place, the class is ready to undertake the exciting tasks awaiting them in common core based lessons.

So, setting limits to speech noise levels, time to complete academic tasks, think-pair-share activities, cooperative learning projects, etc. can easily be accomplished by using a timer.  When students hear the timer go off, they know that they have 30 seconds to complete their conversation.  Once the timer has gone off and the class is quiet, the teacher can do random call-ons to see how well the groups tackled the task.

Holding every student accountable to produce work is crucial if they are to do well on final projects.  Calling on volunteers is not effective since those students already know the answers.  It is necessary to take the pulse of entire class learning by calling on those students who don't raise their hands.  If they understand, the lesson is effective.  However, if after calling on 4 or more students who don't know the answer, the teacher knows to re-present the material in a different way to make sure that every student grasps key concepts.

This video on classroom time management  does an excellent job in showing the before and after of a lesson by a new teacher.  Though the teacher being filmed is new, what she learns here with support from her department chair and instructional coach could help any teacher regardless of the number of years spent in the classroom. 

As teachers watch this clip, they can either congratulate themselves for already doing such activities, or contemplate adjusting instructional activities to create a more effective learning environment for students.

Denise

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Incredible Tool To Scaffold Instruction Of ALL LEARNERS!

Every teacher in just about any teacher credential program over the last 57 years has had experience with Bloom's Taxonomy.  It provides teachers with support to provide quality instruction to students at levels moving from factual recall up through analysis/synthesis.  Using Bloom's taxonomy assists teachers in developing quality lessons that continually challenge students to eventually be able to tackle the more demanding assignments they will eventually encounter in college, the work force, and the university.  ELLs especially benefit from this since they do not always face as many of the same academically challenging questions as the native speakers.

 BLOOM'S TAXONOMY--21ST CENTURY EDITION  Well, with the arrival of the Common Core, teachers are now turning to an updated version of Bloom's which assists teachers in meeting the academic content and language needs of all their students with relative ease.  It offers a fresh way of engaging students in active learning without watering down content.  This is especially beneficial to ELLs who are often not in academically challenging classes until they have exited ELD classes.  Once the transition occurs, they are often at below average grade reading levels by 2-3 years so it becomes a constant game of "catch-up" which they often fail to accomplish. 

Creating, Evaluating, Analyzing, Applying, Understanding, and Remembering (new levels of Bloom's Taxonomy)--There are iPad apps for each of those levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Students at every level of the learning process would find additional support in becoming more proficient at all those key academic skills that students must master to succeed academically.  They would not take the place of a teacher, but when teachers need to differentiate based on need, the iPad app could fit in with ease.

Consider this a brief recap on Blooms and see how it can assist in the planning of assessments, lessons, activities, and projects.

Denise

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Earth Science--Make It Even More Fascinating for Your Students:)

Earth science is a fascinating subject for all grade levels.  It covers many aspects of life that affect us all in varying ways:  eruption of volcanoes, explanations of earthquakes, different forms of weather, etc.  If you live in an area of the world with earthquakes, you will see a natural fascination with students in not just how to prepare for such an event, but why they actually occur.  What about twisters or tornadoes?  Again, if these surface in one's neighborhood especially, the interest peaks as teachers explain the WHY behind them and the destruction they bring.

EARTH SCIENCE  addresses the above topics and much more at a level that is easily accessed by kids.  For ELLs, this site provides background information to support them in completing classwork assignments.  You will note that each link offers many sites on the subject at different grade levels as well as at different levels of English proficiency.  Imagine that all the accommodations you will ever need are within the same site!  A definite time saver in a teacher's otherwise very busy day:)

Denise

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